Until now, all windsurfing booms have a tailpiece that fixes the clew of a sail in essentially one position , relative to the sailor. I have thought for some time that a windsurf sail would have better shape if it was allowed to move laterally away from the sailor. I built a device to tested the concept.
After two months of testing I found the following results:
1. the sail is more manageable in overpowering conditions. PA1 2. the sailboard goes upwind better. PA1 3. the sailboard goes faster.
I'm not an aerodynamic engineer. I can't explain why I'm getting these results. But I feel that the sail has better shape if the clew is positioned further away from the sailor than current windsurfing booms now allow. It is well known that enlarging the outhaul, flattens the sail and makes it perform better in overpowering conditions.